US, Costa Rica headline Rio Tinto Stadium Gold Cup Doubleheader

SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake’s Rio Tinto Stadium home today learned the times and opponents for its previously announced CONCACAF Gold Cup doubleheader, with the United States Men’s National Team headlining the Saturday, July 13 event. Jurgen Klinsmann’s USA Gold Cup team – which could include multiple members of the Real Salt Lake roster – hosts Cuba at 1:30 p.m. MT to open the Utah-based portion of the event, with RSL FW Alvaro Saborio’s Costa Rica side squaring off against Belize at 4:00 p.m. MT. The 2013 Gold Cup Doubleheader at Rio Tinto Stadium is presented by the Utah Sports Commission.

Tickets to all Gold Cup matches will be available to the general public starting on Thursday, March 21 at 10:00 a.m. (local time in all markets) by visiting www.GoldCup.org. Special pre-sales will be available starting tomorrow, Thursday, March 14 at many of the participating Gold Cup cities. For a complete calendar of the Rio Tinto Stadium pre-sale process, please visit www.RioTintoStadium.com/events/Gold-Cup.php.

“Events like the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup bring economic impact and international exposure to Utah and continue to position it as the ‘State of Sport’,” said Utah Sports Commission President & CEO Jeff Robbins. “The arrival of high-profile international soccer events such as this would not be possible without a world-class soccer specific venue such as Rio Tinto Stadium, and is a continuing testament to the international sporting culture developed by the great fans of Real Salt Lake.”

The Rio Tinto Stadium stop is the second of three group games for the United States, Costa Rica, Cuba and Belize, which kick off their tourney on Tuesday, July 9 in Portland, OR, and continue on to Hartford, CT on Tuesday, July 16. The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final was awarded to the City of Chicago and Soldier Field, to be played on Sunday, July 28, 2013 at 4pm EST. As previously announced, the Rose Bowl will host the opening doubleheader of the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday, July 7, which will feature reigning Gold Cup champion Mexico taking on Panama as part of that doubleheader.

“We look forward to a successful tournament and an exciting 2013 Gold Cup final on July 28, right here at Soldier Field,” said CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb. “We also expect yet another competition fueled by passionate fans brought together in a celebration that will hopefully inspire a whole new generation of players.”

The biannual tourney begins play on Sunday, July 7 at 3:30 pm MT at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The complete schedule can be found by clicking here. The 2013 Gold Cup quarterfinals will be played in Atlanta's Georgia Dome and Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium, both first-time hosts in the tournament. The semifinals will head to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX on Wednesday, July 24.

With a mix of historic venues and brand new state of the art soccer facilities that average 57,000 spectators, the 2013 edition of the Gold Cup promises to provide fans both in stadium and at home with unforgettable atmospheres. In 2011, the tournament drew more than 600,000 fans throughout 13 match-days, including nine sell-outs. Taking place every two years, the Gold Cup has established itself as the region's most popular national team tournament, routinely drawing capacity crowds and millions of television viewers across the region. It features the confederation’s best players from the top 12 nations.

2013 CONCACAF GOLD CUP™ PARTICIPANTS

GROUP A: Mexico, Panama, Canada, Martinique

GROUP B: Honduras, El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti

GROUP C: USA, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba

2013 CONCACAF GOLD CUP SCHEDULE

(local time followed by EDT time)

First Round

Sunday, July 7 – Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)

Canada vs. Martinique, 2:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. EDT)

Mexico vs. Panama, 5:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. EDT)

Monday, July 8 – Red Bull Arena (Harrison, NJ)

El Salvador vs. Trinidad & Tobago, 7 p.m. (7 p.m. EDT)

Haiti vs. Honduras, 9:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. EDT)

Tuesday, July 9 – JELD-WEN Field (Portland, OR)

Costa Rica vs. Cuba, 5:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. EDT)

Belize vs. USA, 8 p.m. (11 p.m. EDT)

Thursday, July 11 – CenturyLink Field (Seattle, WA)

Panama vs. Martinique, 5:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. EDT)

Mexico vs. Canada, 8 p.m. (11 p.m. EDT)

Friday, July 12 – Sun Life Stadium (Miami, FL)

Trinidad & Tobago vs. Haiti, 7 p.m. (7 p.m. EDT)

Honduras vs. El Salvador, 9:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. EDT)

Saturday, July 13 – Rio Tinto Stadium (Salt Lake City, UT)

USA vs. Cuba, 1:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. EDT)

Costa Rica vs. Belize, 4:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. EDT)

Sunday, July 14 – Sports Authority Field at Mile High (Denver, CO)

Martinique vs. Mexico, 2 p.m. (4 p.m. EDT)

Panama vs. Canada, 4:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. EDT)

Monday, July 15 – BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston, TX)

El Salvador vs. Haiti, 6 p.m. (7 p.m. EDT)

Honduras vs. Trinidad & Tobago, 8:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. EDT)

Tuesday, July 16 – Rentschler Field (Hartford, CT)

Cuba vs. Belize, 5:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. EDT)

USA vs. Costa Rica, 8 p.m. (8 p.m. EDT)

Quarterfinals

Saturday, July 20 – Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA)

Group A runner-up vs. Group B runner-up, TBD (x)

Group A winner vs. Group B/C third-place, TBD (x)

x-matches scheduled for 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. local (3 p.m. and 6 p.m. EDT) with order TBD

Sunday, July 21 – M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore, MD)

Group B winner vs. Group C runner-up, TBD (y)

Group C winner vs. Group A/B third place, TBD (y)

y-matches scheduled for 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. local (4 p.m. and 7 p.m. EDT) with order TBD

Semifinals

Wednesday, July 24 – Cowboys Stadium (Arlington, TX)

X quarterfinal winners, TBD (z)

Y quarterfinal winners, TBD (z)

z-matches scheduled for 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. local (7 p.m. and 10 p.m. EDT) with order TBD